Job summary
- Main area
- Biochemistry
- Grade
- NHS AfC: Band 4
- Contract
- Permanent
- Hours
- Full time - 37.5 hours per week (Weekday 10:00-18:00)
- Job ref
- 349-CSS-7294374*
- Employer
- Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust
- Employer type
- NHS
- Site
- North Manchester General Hospital
- Town
- Manchester
- Salary
- £27,485 - £30,162 Per Annum, Pro Rata
- Salary period
- Yearly
- Closing
- 28/07/2025 23:59
Employer heading

Associate Practitioner - Biochemistry
NHS AfC: Band 4
Job overview
MFT hosts one of the largest diagnostic Biochemistry services within the NHS. Now as its own directorate, Biochemistry resides within the division of laboratory medicine and currently comprises of laboratories across Oxford Road, Wythenshawe, Trafford and North Manchester Hospitals. Collectively the laboratories provide a diverse range of complex and specialist services for both adults and paediatrics, with MFT being a large tertiary referral centre and university teaching hospital.
We have an exciting opportunity at our North Manchester site seeking an enthusiastic and highly motivated Associate Practitioner who has experience within the Biochemistry department and a passion for clinical excellence, quality and a drive for career development. The post holder will act as a support to Biomedical Scientists, who provide scientific services to patients as an aid to clinical diagnosis. The successful candidate will be required to undertake a wide range of analytical procedures, performing a range of manual, semi-automated and automated tests using scientific knowledge and experiences.
The successful candidate joins MFT in providing commonality of platforms and processes but also robustness and business continuity across our sites.
Main duties of the job
We’re looking for an enthusiastic, aspirational and highly motivated Associate Practitioner who has experience within the Biochemistry department and a passion for clinical excellence, quality and a drive for career development to join our North Manchester General Hospital team. The role will involve routine processing of analytical samples, training and development of the support staff, and involvement in maintaining protocols on the section in line with ISO 15189 such as reagent control, documentation, quality assurance, audit processes and general overall performance. As a progressive department, we currently provide a significant amount of specialist services to both clinical users and external laboratories and invest in staff development offering support and encouragement in CPD with the opportunity to attend approved seminars and external courses when available.
The department is looking for a part time applicant, the post will be static in North Manchester General Hospital, however, you may be expected to attend the other sites for meetings and service requirements.
The department has full HCPC training status for pre and post registration IBMS portfolios and full ISO 15189 accreditation.
Working for our organisation
MFT is one of the largest NHS Trust In England with a turnover of over £3bn & is on a different scale than most other NHS Trusts. We’re creating an exceptional integrated health & social care system for the 1 million patients who rely on our services every year.
Bringing together 10 hospitals & community services from across Manchester, Trafford & beyond, we champion collaborative working & transformation, encouraging our 30,000 workforce to pursue their most ambitious goals. We set standards that other Trusts seek to emulate so you’ll benefit from a scale of opportunity that is nothing short of extraordinary.
We’ve also created a digitally enabled organisation to improve clinical quality, patient & staff experience, operational effectiveness & driving research, and innovation through the introduction of Hive; our Electronic Patient Record system which launched in September 2022.
We’re proud to be a major academic Research Centre & Education provider, providing you with a robust infrastructure to encourage and facilitate high-quality research programmes. What’s more, we’re excited to be embarking on our Green Plan which sets out how MFT continues to play its part in making healthcare more sustainable.
At MFT, we create and foster a culture of inclusion and belonging, provide equal opportunities for career development that are fair, open, and transparent, protecting your health and wellbeing and shaping the future of our organisation together.
Detailed job description and main responsibilities
To find out more about the key responsibilities and the specific skills and experience you’ll need, take a look at the Job Description & Person Specification attachments under the ‘Supporting Documents’ heading. So that you’re even more equipped to make an informed decision to apply to us, you’ll need to take time to read the ‘Candidate Essentials Guide’ that sits with the Job Description and Person Specification. This document provides you with details about the Trust, our benefits and outlines how ‘we care for you as you care for others’. Most importantly, it also contains critical information you’ll need to be aware of before you submit an application form.
Diversity Matters
MFT is committed to promoting equality of opportunity, celebrating and valuing diversity and eliminating any form of unlawful discrimination across our workforce, ensuring our people are truly representative of the communities we serve. All individuals regardless of age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, sex and sexual orientation are encouraged to apply for this post. As an inclusive employer, we are here to support you. If you have any special requirements to help you with your application, email our team at [email protected].
We’re looking forward to hearing from you!
Person specification
Education / Qualifications
Essential criteria
- Foundation degree or equivalent in relevant field
Desirable criteria
- Demonstrates desire to progress, interest in further training and education
Experience
Essential criteria
- Laboratory experience including performing basic laboratory tests and procedures.
- Experience in clinical laboratory setting
Desirable criteria
- At least one-year clinical laboratory experience.
Skills
Essential criteria
- Can follow standard operating procedures (SOP’s).
- Ability to perform specified tests to required quality standards.
- Can organise and prioritise tasks in their work area. Can work on own initiative.
- Has good hand to eye co-ordination, manual dexterity and can perform tasks efficiently and accurately.
- Must be able to work as part of a team
Desirable criteria
- Able to complete basic maintenance of analytical equipment.
- Demonstates basic computer skills, able to use laboratory software
Knowledge
Essential criteria
- Demonstrates knowledge of a range of laboratory procedures
- Knowledge of quality Assurance
Desirable criteria
- Basic knowledge of health & safety
Aptitudes
Essential criteria
- Confident handling and processing clinical samples.
- Ability to cope with busy workload/ stressful periods.
- Flexible approach to working hours which may vary according to Departmental needs.
Values
Essential criteria
- Demonstrates trust values
Documents to download
Further details / informal visits contact
- Name
- Kyle Buckley
- Job title
- Senior Biomedical Scientist
- Email address
- [email protected]
- Telephone number
- 0161 604 5389
- Additional information
Emma Cowdell
Lead Biomedical Scientist
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